Chandler Update

Well, I still can't believe Chandler has the mumps. He says he doesn't feel well. Obviously you can tell why. Tom & I are still having sympathy pains...well that's what we're hoping it is anyway. We are alternating Tylenol & Motrin every 3 hours to keep inflammation, pain, and fever down. I keep wondering where he contracted this. It could have been anywhere with all of our recent travels and an incubation time of up to 25 days. He's been laying around playing games & watching Home Improvement reruns. Guess that must be the life...for one who has the mumps... ;o)

Do people still get the mumps? Really?

This is absolutely unbelievable. Yesterday Chandler was complaining about his ear hurting. We determined it was probably fluid. Well...today his left jaw began swelling...a lot. After some deliberation, we took him to the ER. Mumps? No way! He's been immunized! Doesn't matter? Really? Ok. I'm thinking so why did we spend all of that money on immunizations we just "had" to have. Well, we rushed home to do some googling on the mumps. Sounds pretty serious. So we're giving ibuprofen and hoping for the best. Not sure if Tom & I are having sympathy pains or what but...we're having pains behind our ears. Oh boy. Hope we don't get them too...we were immunized too, but I forgot...that doesn't matter. You might want to do some googling on the mumps, they're obviously going around Chandler caught them somewhere.

Old Friend!

This has been a great weekend getting to spend time with my old friend Jason Whittington. It has been a while since we had the opportunity to just sit and visit and I must say that he has not changed one bit! He is still one of the most fun people I have ever come in contact with! It's really funny to watch Chandler and Clay react to him. Clay and Jason are two "kindred" spirits, and that "SCARES" me! We were talking about how long it has been since he moved to Boston, and he decided that it is close to 5 years now. I don't really know, but it feels like eternity to me! I am looking forward to the day he decides to come back home. You never know... it could happen!

Snowed In!

Yesterday while traveling to the cabin it started to snow. Luckily we had time to stop at the grocery store on our way in, other wise we would have been without food for the next 24 hrs. It seemed like every mile we traveled the temperature would drop a degree or two as the flakes were getting bigger and accumulating fast. These pictures can not even come close to the beauty of it all. Well... while we were there, we worked through the afternoon and most of the evening putting up insulation! (Thank God I do not do that for a living!) It is pretty amazing how much of a difference the insulation helped! The cabin started out at 30 degrees then after the insulation it was a comfortable 67. We awoke this morning to a great breakfast Stephanie made consisting of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. You can't ask for better. We finished the upstairs ceiling this morning, then cleaned up the mess and headed down the mountain. In the process of working in the bathroom, I found that my pipes burst at some time. This being said, my next project is "re-doing" the plumbing. Oh well, It's just time and money!!!

A Most Thankful Christmas Dinner

Today we met for the McIntosh Christmas. There were many who couldn't make it for various reasons, but those who did had a great time of visiting. We had a wonderful dinner of the usual McIntosh traditional Christmas foods. Uncle Roy always brings the ham (which he makes the best in the south...hands down). Aunt Laverne makes the dressing and chicken & dumplings along with the Italian cream cheese cake. For some reason this year she didn't make the yeast rolls or the sweet potato casserole, and we certainly gave her a hard time about it. Aunt Linda made the smothered deer, green beans, & Mississippi mud cake. And Mom made her broccoli rice, twice-baked potatoes, jambalaya, and pecan & coconut pies. We had tons of other food, and all was well on the McIntosh menu.

Everything was set up for dinner, and we all gathered around to pray. When suddenly Uncle Bob said he wanted to pray. Immediately tears filled everyone's eyes. Uncle Bob has been going through some trying times lately, but I am reminded of Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Through these times he has been brought to the Father. His prayer was one that we've longed to hear.

As I reflect on today, I am reminded of all of the prayers that I prayed with Grandma Mac and the daily prayers that she prayed throughout her life for her family. This year, 2007, four years after her death, one of those prayers has been answered. I immediately thought of Revelation 8:3-4 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Our prayers are in heaven waiting for the perfect moment when All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Almighty God knows how to "perfect that which concerns us". As Uncle Bob prayed and tears of thanksgiving flowed down my cheeks I could imagine Grandma Mac in heaven praising God and dancing around, for you see her God, and mine, is faithful, and He cares about those things that we care about. Grandma has many more prayers that God will answer.
You know, I can't wait to see who prays next year.

Happy Birthday Clay

Today was a big day for Clay... we celebrated his 8th birthday. (Sunday is the actual day, but with the holidays and all we celebrated early!) Clay had a few friends over, and he had a large castle "spacewalk" in the front yard. We certainly were the attraction in the neighborhood. The kids jumped for hours and had a blast. Lots of friends and family came to celebrate.

It seems like only yesterday that he was born. He came home from the hospital with his little Santa hat and celebrated Christmas. Now he's 8 and growing like a weed. He is lots of fun. One day we were talking about talents. I asked him what his talent was, he said, "making people laugh". That is so true. He is extremely funny. He can come up with the greatest things. He's definitely an entertainer. We love his compassion for others, his joy for life, and his freedom. We received a wonderful gift 8 years ago. Happy Birthday Clay!

We love you & will miss you, Joey!

Today is a sad day in our house, we lost a friend of the family. Joey, our cat we've had for 17 years, that's 88 in people years, had to be euthanized. His health has been steadily deteriorating. We woke up this morning and he couldn't walk well, was dizzy and couldn't walk down the stairs. Joey was found in the Baptist Medical Center parking lot 17+years ago by some friends of Tom's, Charles & Peggy. They took Joey home with them to join their home and their other cats, however their other cats were somewhat jealous. Charles & Peggy asked around the hospital if anyone was interested in a cat. Tom, knowing that I loved cats, brought Joey home to me. He's been a family member ever since. He was absolutely the greatest cat in the world. He was gentle natured, sat there when he was given a bath, and would let us hold him upside down or anyway really. He was so sweet with children and was the best lap cat ever. He was greatly loved and will be dearly missed.

Proverbs 12:10a A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal,